EMS officials: Residents should have a tornado plan

Kate Hessling, Tribune Staff Writer

Published 3:24 pm, Friday, April 22, 2016

HURON COUNTY — Central dispatch and emergency services officials are asking the public to seek shelter immediately after they hear a tornado siren go off during a severe weather storm — and to not call 9-1-1 unless it is an emergency.

“We have had several people call 9-1-1 (during severe weather) to ask what the siren was for,” said Burt Eichler, Huron County 9-1-1 Central Dispatch/Emergency Services Director. “ … It has a tendency to overload the system so callers with actual emergencies may experience wait times.”

Eichler said about 50 percent of calls central dispatch receives during severe weather storms are non-emergency

related — including calls from folks who don’t know what to do after they hear a tornado warning siren, to individuals who’ve lost electricity and want to know when their power is going to be restored.

Emergency-related 9-1-1 calls during severe weather include reports of down, arching and/or smoking electrical lines and wires, and tree branches and limbs that have fallen on electrical lines, he said.

Also, when people call 9-1-1 for non-emergency reasons, they’re not just making it harder for callers with true emergencies to reach dispatchers, they’re also wasting the dispatchers’ time and resources, as well as time the caller should be spending seeking shelter, he said.

Eichler said Oakland County’s dispatch system was jammed earlier this year because so many people had called 9-1-1 during a severe weather event.

“So emergency calls couldn’t get through, he said. “And they have one of the best systems in the state.”

The bottom line is that people need to be informed as to what to do in the event a severe weather watch and/or tornado warning is issued, Eichler said.

“When a watch is issued, conditions exist that severe weather may develop,” he explained. “Watches usually cover large areas and last for several hours.”

During a severe weather storm watch, individuals should be alert for hazardous weather to form, Eichler said. Then, if a warning is issued, people should take action immediately.

“Hopefully, people have a family severe weather plan they’ve practiced and know how to use it when a warning is issued,” he said.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), people who are in a structure (like a residence, small building, school, nursing home, hospital, factory, shopping center, etc.) during a tornado should go to a pre-designated shelter area such as a safe room, basement, storm cellar or the lowest building level. If there is no basement, go to the center of an interior room on the lowest level (closet, interior hallway) away from corners, windows, doors and outside walls. Put as many walls as possible between you and the outside. Get under a sturdy table and use your arms to protect your head and neck. Do not open windows.

FEMA recommends those who are in a vehicle, trailer or mobile home during a tornado to get out immediately and go to the lowest floor of a sturdy, nearby building or a storm shelter. Mobile homes — even if tied down — offer little protection from tornadoes, the agency warns.

Those who are outside with no shelter during a tornado should lie flat in a nearby ditch or depression and cover their head with their hands, FEMA advises. These individuals should be aware of the potential for flooding. People who are outside with no shelter during a tornado should not get under an overpass or bridge as FEMA says it’s safer in a low, flat location.

The agency says someone who is outside with no shelter during a tornado should never try to outrun a tornado in urban or congested areas in a car or truck. Instead, they should leave the vehicle immediately for safe shelter.

These individuals also should be on the lookout for flying debris because debris from tornadoes cause the most fatalities and injuries.

Eichler said tornado warnings are issued through one-minute sirens that go off in villages/towns all over the county. The tornado sirens are different from daily noon whistles in that they are very high-pitched, continuous blast that last for at least a full minute.

The tornado sirens are designed to warn individuals who are outside to seek shelter immediately, he said.

Those who are inside should follow their severe weather plan and listen to a radio or watch TV for weather updates, Eichler said.

“People may remember an ‘all-clear’ siren, but that practice is no longer in place because we don’t know for sure when it’s all clear,” he said. “So people need to keep an eye on the TV or listen to the radio to see when it’s all over.”